Chapter 2 · The Moon Guided Her With Its Light

After he left, I tossed the bouquet of red roses and the sandwich into the trash.

My five-year-old daughter, Bailey, looked at me curiously. "Mommy, the flowers are still fresh. Are you throwing them away? Isn't that a waste?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I don't want them anymore."

After dropping my daughter off at kindergarten, I noticed Christina had that lovestruck look in her eyes.

She flashed me a cheerful hello.

I nodded and smiled back, same as always.

The second I turned around and got in my car, my heart dropped.

My husband was cheating on me with my little girl's teacher.

It had been going on for at least a year.

And I was completely in the dark.

After dropping Bailey off at kindergarten, I didn't go straight home. Instead, I headed to Daryl's company.

I wasn't there to see him. I was heading for the parking lot.

Using the spare car key, I unlocked the door and checked the dashcam footage.

The dashcam playback was wiped clean.

Only this morning's recording was still there. He hadn't deleted it yet.

On his way to the office, Daryl took a call.

It was Maurice, his closest friend and business partner.

"Mr. Gonzales, I've sent Ms. Mendoza her living expenses for this month," Maurice said.

"Yeah, her water was shut off yesterday. Have someone check it out," Daryl replied.

"Got it. She's got her eye on that custom necklace you had made for Gwen. Should I give it to her?" Maurice asked.

Daryl replied coolly, "Tell her she can have whatever she wants, but she can't take anything that belongs to Gwen.

"Give her that sapphire necklace from the last auction, and wire her 300 thousand dollars as compensation.

"And make sure to warn her that if she wants to stay a kindergarten teacher, she'd better keep it together and not slip up in front of Gwen."

Maurice let out a sigh.

Maurice said, "Daryl, who the hell makes their side chick their kid's teacher?"

Daryl was quiet for a moment.

Then he said softly, "Gwen's been sick, and Bailey needs someone to look after her.

"And Christina's cute, young, and honestly, pretty damn sexy."

Maurice was at a loss for words.

He said, "Seriously, you need to be careful. You know Gwen's a total clean freak, and you're still messing around behind her back? If she ever finds out, you'll be the one crying."

"Relax, I won't let her find out," Daryl replied.

I sat in the car, watching Daryl's unreadable smile in the footage, and my heart felt like it was being ripped apart.

Turns out everyone knew about him and Christina.

They were all putting on an act in front of me.

Their conversation kept going, but I didn't want to listen anymore.

I felt completely numb and cold inside.

Before I got out of the car, I hid a voice recorder in Daryl's car.

When Daryl called me, I told him I was having dinner at my uncle Roderick's house tonight.

He asked if he could come along.

I turned him down.

Daryl couldn't hide the jealousy in his voice.

Daryl said, "Honey, I want to come with you.

"You used to like that older guy, and I'm not okay with it.

"Please, babe, let me come with you, okay?"

"Next time. I gotta go. He's here to pick me up," I said.

"Okay, but just thinking about you having dinner with him, I can't help but feel jealous," Daryl said.

I smiled, but it was a bitter, tearful smile.

"Daryl, I'm never going back to someone, and I damn sure won't ever love anyone who hurt me," I said.

It was neither Roderick nor him.

Daryl was at a loss for words.

Even though he knew I was talking about Roderick, Daryl's heart skipped a beat, and for some reason, he suddenly got all flustered.

After a brief silence, he blurted out, like he couldn't handle the idea, "Gwen, don't worry. We'll be together forever. I swear.

"I can't live without you. I said it on our wedding day. Rich or poor, healthy or sick, I'll always love you."

All I felt was a stabbing pain in my heart.

Daryl said he couldn't live without me, but he still cheated on me anyway

On the phone, he kept making promises, trying to lift my mood.

And I stayed quiet and listened.

"Gwen, are you upset today? Did I mess something up?" Daryl probed, his voice full of hesitation.

"No," I finally said, "I just watched a movie that ended badly."

Daryl breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. "Next time, don't watch those kinds of movies alone. Wait for me to get home, and we'll watch it together."

Chapter 2

After he left, I tossed the bouquet of red roses and the sandwich into the trash.

My five-year-old daughter, Bailey, looked at me curiously. "Mommy, the flowers are still fresh. Are you throwing them away? Isn't that a waste?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I don't want them anymore."

After dropping my daughter off at kindergarten, I noticed Christina had that lovestruck look in her eyes.

She flashed me a cheerful hello.

I nodded and smiled back, same as always.

The second I turned around and got in my car, my heart dropped.

My husband was cheating on me with my little girl's teacher.

It had been going on for at least a year.

And I was completely in the dark.

After dropping Bailey off at kindergarten, I didn't go straight home. Instead, I headed to Daryl's company.

I wasn't there to see him. I was heading for the parking lot.

Using the spare car key, I unlocked the door and checked the dashcam footage.

The dashcam playback was wiped clean.

Only this morning's recording was still there. He hadn't deleted it yet.

On his way to the office, Daryl took a call.

It was Maurice, his closest friend and business partner.

"Mr. Gonzales, I've sent Ms. Mendoza her living expenses for this month," Maurice said.

"Yeah, her water was shut off yesterday. Have someone check it out," Daryl replied.

"Got it. She's got her eye on that custom necklace you had made for Gwen. Should I give it to her?" Maurice asked.

Daryl replied coolly, "Tell her she can have whatever she wants, but she can't take anything that belongs to Gwen.

"Give her that sapphire necklace from the last auction, and wire her 300 thousand dollars as compensation.

"And make sure to warn her that if she wants to stay a kindergarten teacher, she'd better keep it together and not slip up in front of Gwen."

Maurice let out a sigh.

Maurice said, "Daryl, who the hell makes their side chick their kid's teacher?"

Daryl was quiet for a moment.

Then he said softly, "Gwen's been sick, and Bailey needs someone to look after her.

"And Christina's cute, young, and honestly, pretty damn sexy."

Maurice was at a loss for words.

He said, "Seriously, you need to be careful. You know Gwen's a total clean freak, and you're still messing around behind her back? If she ever finds out, you'll be the one crying."

"Relax, I won't let her find out," Daryl replied.

I sat in the car, watching Daryl's unreadable smile in the footage, and my heart felt like it was being ripped apart.

Turns out everyone knew about him and Christina.

They were all putting on an act in front of me.

Their conversation kept going, but I didn't want to listen anymore.

I felt completely numb and cold inside.

Before I got out of the car, I hid a voice recorder in Daryl's car.

When Daryl called me, I told him I was having dinner at my uncle Roderick's house tonight.

He asked if he could come along.

I turned him down.

Daryl couldn't hide the jealousy in his voice.

Daryl said, "Honey, I want to come with you.

"You used to like that older guy, and I'm not okay with it.

"Please, babe, let me come with you, okay?"

"Next time. I gotta go. He's here to pick me up," I said.

"Okay, but just thinking about you having dinner with him, I can't help but feel jealous," Daryl said.

I smiled, but it was a bitter, tearful smile.

"Daryl, I'm never going back to someone, and I damn sure won't ever love anyone who hurt me," I said.

It was neither Roderick nor him.

Daryl was at a loss for words.

Even though he knew I was talking about Roderick, Daryl's heart skipped a beat, and for some reason, he suddenly got all flustered.

After a brief silence, he blurted out, like he couldn't handle the idea, "Gwen, don't worry. We'll be together forever. I swear.

"I can't live without you. I said it on our wedding day. Rich or poor, healthy or sick, I'll always love you."

All I felt was a stabbing pain in my heart.

Daryl said he couldn't live without me, but he still cheated on me anyway

On the phone, he kept making promises, trying to lift my mood.

And I stayed quiet and listened.

"Gwen, are you upset today? Did I mess something up?" Daryl probed, his voice full of hesitation.

"No," I finally said, "I just watched a movie that ended badly."

Daryl breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled. "Next time, don't watch those kinds of movies alone. Wait for me to get home, and we'll watch it together."